Wyckoff's Morgan Hoffmann at 5-under in pro debut; will make Travelers cut

CROMWELL, CONN. – It was a hole that threatened the newcomer’s day. But instead of dwelling, he smiled. And before he signed his scorecard, he signed an autograph.

It didn’t matter that Morgan Hoffmann had left his third shot short of the hole on the par-4 18th, ending his first professional round with his first bogey of the day. It didn’t faze him that in 30 minutes he’d be teeing off in his second round of the day, the result of massive rain Thursday at TPC River Highlands.

The Wyckoff native displayed the same smile he flashed on his last hole Friday through the whole round, after that bogey and after his drive on his 36th hole, hitting the fairway to clinch his first made cut on the PGA Tour by two strokes, finishing with rounds of 67 and 68 to sit at 5-under par, tied for 27th place at the Travelers Championship.

“It doesn’t get better than this, you know? I’m having fun, I’m doing what I want to do, I’m living a dream, and now I’m making it into the weekend and I’m going to get paid,” said Hoffmann, who turned professional this week after his junior season at Oklahoma State. “It’s a dream come true, so why not smile all the time?”

Second-round play was suspended due to darkness at 8 p.m., with 77 of the 154 golfers still on the course. The projected cut was at 3-under and Hoffmann looks safe two strokes ahead of that number. PGA Tour officials projected the third round to start at about 11:30 a.m. today.

Despite the marathon 10 hours of golf the 21-year-old played Friday, he stayed consistent and kept his composure throughout the day, making 26 pars to go along with six birdies, three bogeys and an eagle.

Hoffmann and the entire field will be chasing Patrick Cantlay, a UCLA freshman who won the NCAA tournament this year and finished as the low amateur at last week’s U.S. Open. He shot a 10-under round of 60, the first amateur in PGA Tour history to do so.

But it was an equally memorable day for Hoffmann and his family.

There were ups and downs, the highlight coming at the par-5 13th hole as Hofmann’s 3-wood approach from 253 yards out hit the green and released down, coming to rest three feet from the hole.

“I was hoping I’d hit a few more like that today,” the All-American joked. “But it was a cool feeling to see it come off the face right at the target.”

His shot-making was superb throughout the day, hitting 27 of 36 greens in regulation, tying for 33rd-best for the first two rounds. And Hoffmann did not three-putt once over the course of the day, but felt he left a lot of shots on the course. He had 58 total putts.

“Oh yeah, I definitely could have,” he said when he asked if he could’ve finished in double digits. “But it’s behind me now. I’m going to go out there and have fun and play well [today].”

He missed five putts inside 10 feet in the first round, so on his second 18, Hoffmann said he changed his approach, not lining up his putts, instead depending on feel.

The result was a 24-foot birdie putt to start the second round.

“I just need to get my speed right,” he said. “And since it’s been so wet, the greens have gotten a lot slower. And adjusting and adapting to the speeds was difficult.”

His caddie, Steve Underwood, who is Tim Clark’s regular caddie but has worked with K.J. Choi, helped keep Hoffmann loose through tough stretches.

But it was his support group – about a dozen friends and family – joking with him along the course that helped Hoffmann ensure a memorable debut as a PGA Tour pro.

“I’m just really happy to have them out here, especially for my first PGA Tour event,” he said. “It’s amazing. I’m so lucky and blessed to have such a great support group. You can’t ask for anything more than this.”